THE double killer of his parents at their Skipton home will be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Friday, November 18, the judge in charge of the case said yesterday.

David Taylor, 36, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the manslaughter of John and Beverley Taylor due to diminished responsibility.

Mr and Mrs Taylor, both 66, were killed at their home in Regent Crescent, Skipton, on December 21 last year.

At a Mention hearing yesterday morning, Judge Jonathan Rose said a psychiatrist had supported the making of a ‘hybrid order’ when Taylor is brought to court from Rampton Secure Hospital where he is detained by the Secretary of State under the Mental Health Act.

The day-long sentencing hearing will hear expert medical evidence after three doctors presented a joint report to the court last month.

Jonathan Sandiford KC, for the Crown, said that the case would take some time and that Judge Rose would need to reflect on the submissions made by both sides.

Judge Rose said that Taylor, who wasn’t before the court yesterday, must be brought from the hospital to be present when sentenced.

His barrister, Sean Smith, assured him that Taylor would be attending the hearing.

Judge Rose pointed to the great importance of victim personal statements in the case, asking that any further material from family and friends be uploaded ahead of the hearing.

Mr Sandiford said he will make contact with the police to ensure that all is in place.

“It is most important for the court to have an understanding of the victims in this case,” Judge Rose stated.

A ‘hybrid’ sentence incorporates both treatment in a mental hospital and the option of imprisonment.

Taylor, understood to be a paranoid schizophrenic, is reported to have stabbed his parents to death.

At the last hearing in July, Judge Rose apologised to both him and to members of his family present in court that the case could not be concluded then but said he knew they would all want the final determination to be the right one.

Taylor was suffering from ‘significant mental illness’ at the time of the killings and continued to do so, Judge Rose said on the last occasion.

He suggested that the doctors treating him meet in person or remotely to discuss the best way forward before the case was concluded, Judge Rose today confirmed that had been done and that he had seen the medical doc-uments.